The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1887-04-16
sHERmAN's FIRST WIFE.
A Beautiful Woman's Letters to n Bril-
liant Wit.
THEIR ROMANTIC C0URTsHlP.

thor OF those f0fmtaOIe CoUeu4eo,
s.Tbe Rivals" aud "The School for
Scandal" and that uurivalled farce.
ssThe Critic; +" the man Who pronoun'
ced that masterpiece OF oratory gen
orally known as the "Begum Speech"
which conquered the most stubborn
adversaries In the House OF Commons
to the impeachment Of Warren Hast
inRs Sheridan, the intimate friend OF
the "First Gentleman of Europe :"
Sheridan, the pauper, whose deathoed
was deserted by all bis friends out
Rogers, Lord Holland and Peter
MORE! Sheridan, whose bones now
lie IN the "Poet's Corner" in Westmin'
ster Abbey!
Eliza Liuley, whose beauty has been
immortalized on canvas by dainsoo'
rough and Reynolds, and In pen oy
Horace Walpole; whom John Wilkes
called ssthe most beautiful flower that
ever grew in Natures garden" and
who, so the anecdote goes, once sung
at Salisbury 81 know that my Re-
deemer liveth" with such sweetness
that a bullfinch which happened to be-
in the building, mistakinE her voice
for that of feathered chorister of the
woods, perched on the gallery over her
head and accompanied her through a
great part Of the song!
Sheridan and Eliza Ltnley, the an
cestor and ancestress of the "Queen of
Besuty'' of the EgIentown Tourna.
ment (the late Duchess Of Somersst),
of the Hon. Mrs. Norton and OF Lady
Dufierin 1.-THE mother of the former
Governor General of Canada! II love
letters could ever be Interesting whose
could be more interesting than those
ssthe beautiful mother of beautiful
race" wrote to thu brilliant wit ?
The Herald's London correspondent
was enabled on the Oath inst, through
the courtesy of the editor OF the En-
Riish Illustrated Magazine, to cable to
New York some interesting extracts
from an article written by Miss Ma.
tilda Stoker on "Sheridan ano Miss
Liniey." This article principally deals
with the letters received by Sheridan
from his first wife-letIers which, when
Drury Lane Theatre was burned III
1909, were slowed away III a cellar, aud
W. ~ only recovered over sixty years
later. The Herald now publishes
further extrac,s from this interesting
article.
Sheridan met Mss Linley, who was
the daughter OF n musician, at Bath III
ITO. He WAS then about nineteen,
and, like most me" VIII" had cnme ~
contact with the beautiful girl, h. fell
In love with her. Miss L'nlty had
for a long time been the object Of the
Intentions Of Captain Mathews, n
married man, who made her an ohjec'
of remark in public and persecuteu
her with insulting proposals, which
she indignantly rejected. Driven to
despair by the prosecutions she told
Sheridan everything, but it appears
that before she did so she had made up
her mind to commit suicide. She did
swallow a dose OF laudanum, was res
tored by the timely assistance of the
doctors, and Sheridan the next day
expostulated with her "with the great
est tenderness and showed her the
dreadful crime she had been about to
commit. 1t Is necessary, however, TO
say here that the letter from Miss
Linley to her friend, Miss Sanuerson,
in which the minute account OF Capt.
Mathews's prosecutions is given, and
from which Miss Stoker quotes, was
pronounced by Mrs. Norton many
years ago to be u ''foolish forgery"
MARRIED AND SEPARATED.
To make long story short, the
young couple eloped in 1772 to France,
where they We're secretly married, as
their respective fathers opposed the
alliance. MIR, Linley brought back
his truaut daughter and Sheridan re.
turned to London to fight duel with
Capt. Mathews, who had to beg for
his life. Sheridan and his wife were
only enabled to meet by stealth, for he
dared not openly claim her for fear Of
losing her altogether. That she pas.
sionately loved him Is shown by the
letters already published in the Herald.
That her English was as t'shaky" as
her spelling in the following letter is
possibly to be accounted for by the
cold she was suffering from when she
wrote it =
My mother and me called on Miss
Roscoe this evening, where we talked
great deal about you. Miss R
said she was sure you and I should
make match of 1t. Nay, she said
the whole world was of opinion that
we should be married in less than a
month. Only think of this, bright
Hevn's! God bless you, my dear,
dear love. am SO weary l must go
to bed. There is but one thing that
could keep me awake, and that is your
company. Once more adteu.
Upon my knees, half naked, once
more am going to tire you with my
\ 10, t.~e ~ a.,